Gain of cis-regulatory activities underlies novel domains of wingless gene expression in Drosophila.

ABSTRACT: Changes in gene expression during animal development are largely responsible for the evolution of morphological diversity. However, the genetic and molecular mechanisms responsible for the origins of new gene-expression domains have been difficult to elucidate. Here, we sought to identify molecular events underlying the origins of three novel features of wingless (wg) gene expression that are associated with distinct pigmentation patterns in Drosophila guttifera. We compared the activity of cis-regulatory sequences (enhancers) across the wg locus in D. guttifera and Drosophila melanogaster and found strong functional conservation among the enhancers that control similar patterns of wg expression in larval imaginal discs that are essential for appendage development. For pupal tissues, howev

SUBMITTER: Koshikawa S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4475944 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature